Throughout the book “The Help”, the two main characters had a positive relationship because they put their race difference aside and decided to work together to bring a change to the relationship between blacks and whites. Elizabeth’s maid Aibileen and Skeeter had a relationship that was unlike any other in the story. Even though it was frowned upon for them to be friends or even associate with each other, they continued their meetings which had a positive outcome. Since they continued their meetings and finished the book they were working on, it caused Hilly Holbrook, one of Skeeter’s former friends, to go on a rampage against the black maids and their families. The positive relationship between Skeeter and Aibileen brought other characters …show more content…
like Hilly Holbrook to succumb to destructive impulses. The relationship started after Hilly Holbrook mentioned the “Home Help Sanitation Initiative”, which is Hilly’s idea of a bathroom built separate for the colored help. Skeeter is not like the other ladies in the bridge club. She does not like the idea of the separate bathroom Hilly proposed, even though she had to agree so the others would not think of her differently. She proceeds to talk to Aibileen, asking if she ever “wish[es she] could … change things” (page 12). After that, they met at Aibileen’s house at night so they would not get caught. Even though everyone who volunteered to help with the book knew what the consequences could be if they got caught, they knew that what Aibileen and Skeeter were doing was attempting to bring a change to the relationship between whites and the colored. Once the book got published, Hilly quickly realized that the book was about Jackson, Mississippi.
She immediately started assuming which chapter belonged to which colored help. After reading the whole book, she figured out that the last paragraph was about her. Aibileen, Skeeter, and Minny knew that she would try to protect herself from embarrassment and say the book was not about Jackson. Because of Aibileen’s and Skeeter’s relationship, it caused Hilly to succumb to destructive impulses and go around town telling her the “white ladies to fire they maids and she ain’t even guessing the right ones” (Aibileen- page 484). Although Hilly thought their relationship was bad, others thought it was positive. The members of the church that Aibileen and Minny attend surprised Aibileen and thanked her for influencing people to help make the book happen. Reverend Johnson told Aibileen that “there may be hard times ahead. If it comes to that, the Church will help [her] in every way” (page 467). The church members also thanked Skeeter for the book, saying “…we love her, like she’s our own family” (page 468). This proves that Skeeter’s and Aibileen’s relationship was positive because they were slowly changing how whites treat colors and vice versa. Without their relationship, the book would have never happened and the behavior toward each other, colors and whites, would remain negative. I believe that from Aibileen’s and Skeeter’s relationship, the author of The Help, Kathryn Stockett,
wanted her audience to learn that it only takes one or two people to make a difference in the world. If Skeeter did not step up and proceed to write the book with Aibileen despite the consequences, then the relationship between whites and colors would remain the same, which is negative toward the colors. Both Skeeter and Aibileen wanted to bring a change to have a “better tomorrow”, so they worked together to bring a change to Jackson, Mississippi. Their positive relationship helped some of the white ladies realize their colored help are not bad people. They always listen to their problems without telling a soul about it and they watch over their children and raise them. Their relationship also caused Hilly to go crazy which made people hate her. Skeeter’s and Aibileen’s relationship helped the population of Jackson, Mississippi make a change of the relationships between colors and whites, changing it from negative to positive.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.
Although the main character in the book was white, the author, Sue Kidd, does a great job of depicting the African American culture during the time. Whether it was Rosaleen getting beat up in jail, or Zach dreaming of being a lawyer, this book showed you what it was like being a minority during a time when rights where still being fought for. One of the smaller conflicts in the story was a man verses man conflict, when Lily and Zach started to like each other. Though they knew that a colored man, and a white girl could never be together, they both were attracted to each other. Were they not from different cultures, people would have been fine with them dating, but because Zach was black, it couldn?t work out.
A common theme in books that involve slavery, but extremely important. Race can be defined as a group of people who are grouped together because they are related by similar descent. Throughout the book the whites were grouped together and separated by their power. The blacks as well were grouped together and was withheld from freedom. Even in the book when Celia persistently told the lawyer that she worked alone in her crime. They did not want to come to terms with the fact that no other slave helped, especially given her gender and physical state. They categorized the slaves based on there race, in wanting to punish someone for the death of Mr.
One's identity is a very valuable part of their life, it affects the Day to day treatment others give them which can lead to how the individual feels emotionally. Atticus, defending Tom Robinson, who is an african american man from the plaintiff of the case, Mayella Ewell, who is a caucasian woman, accusing that Tom raped her is supposivly a lob sided case. During the great depression, any court session that contained a person of color against a caucasian would always contain the “white” individual winning the case. The cause of the bias outcome comes from the lawyer of the african american does not try to defend or the jury goes against the person of color simply because their black, this shows the effect of racism to anyone’s identity in the courtroom for a case simply because of race. Atticus, deciding to take Tom Robinson’s case seriously sacrifices his identity as the noble man he is, to being called many names for this action, such as “nigger lover”. He is questioned by
Janie’s first discovery about herself comes when she is a child. She is around the age of six when she realizes that she is colored. Janie’s confusion about her race is based on the reasoning that all her peers and the kids she grows up with are white. Janie and her Nanny live in the backyard of the white people that her Nanny works for. When Janie does not recognize herself on the picture that is taken by a photographer, the others find it funny and laughs, leaving Janie feeling humiliated. This racial discovery is not “social prejudice or personal meanness but affection” (Cooke 140). Janie is often teased at school because she lives with the white people and dresses better than the other colored kids. Even though the kids that tease her were all colored, this begins Janie’s experience to racial discrimination.
This novel teaches us lessons as Atticus educates his children about racism, stereotyping and human kindness. Learning lessons is difficult, but especially for the characters in our story today .
... situation you have to do what is right to you. Nobody should tell you what to do and how to do it. You have to stand up for what you believe in like Atticus did with the court case. He fought for everyone and never judged by race, color, or ethnicity. This story helps students see how life was back then and how discriminating people is not correct. The author really teaches the importance of how people should treat each other and how people can easily get hurt. Racism and segregation is a big thing and it needs to get changed. People need to stop judging and start seeing people for who they are. It is not right to do wrong in life, you have to stand strong, and start making a change in racism and separation. Students will see when reading this book the inspiration that flows out of it. To Kill a Mockingbird is the most influential book students will ever read.
As a matter of fact, it is known that Hilly, a character from The Help, has gruesome character traits when she said, “It’s just plain dangerous. Everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do” (10). Many white people assumed that all African Americans were dirty and diseased. This is one of the reasons why the help had separate bathrooms than their white and wealthy bosses. This also led to a dead African American who used a whites’ bathroom. Also, it is hinted that Aibileen’s boss is very hard to please when Aibileen said, “Trying to cover up something else she doesn’t like the look of in the house” (33). Some white bosses treated their maids very horribly and were never pleased with their work. In this case, Aibileen’s boss seemed to never be happy with the things that Aibileen does, despite the small pay. When reading The Help, one must remember to search for rhetorical devices, such as colloquialism and characterization to gain a full understanding of an African American’s daily life in the
Most stories depict a world full of misconception and over scrutinized facts which deal with an indirect narration of the past. The story is drawn out and over dramatized to the point of disbelief. Bastard out of Carolina is just that. On the contrary, this book is nothing but realistic. Comparing world sufficiency established by Dorothy Allison’s idea of the fifties to that of today’s standards, one would see it as if that world is one out of a fairytale; not so much a fairytale, but as more of a nightmare-tale. To the readers’ surprise, this fictional story is based off personal experience from that of the author. In conclusion, what is said in this novel could be directly compared to life as it was during the nineteen fifties in South Carolina. In particular, white folk of the time period are what is being analyzed and compared. Allison was born into a macrocosm of poverty and sexual abuse. To her, this was the normality of existence at a young age. Her life parallels Bone’s existence in the book and is an ideal structure to base assumption of the fifties off of. What was sufficient ‘then’ is highly different from that of expectations and sufficiency from a present day perspective. Sufficiency lies on a linear social line of expectation. The norms and ideologies of society lie along this line likewise. Defining what exactly sufficiency means in this context: sufficiency is the normality or the accepting of a certain level of knowledge, income, and interactive structure into a society. Essentially it is what is considered ‘enough’ in a given tense. In the fifties for example, role expectations in a family are extremely different from that of today’s expectations. The undertaking of a role today is more freely accepted than what ...
Characters in The Help are faced with an array of conflicts relating to their gender that confine them to a life that they are not satisfied with, but with time they grow the courage to lead the life they choose. Although, Skeeter is unable to speak her mind because society perceives her gender to be unknowledgable and overall useless other than completing the roles played by the typical housewife, she finds her voice. Skeeter becomes conscious of her community looking down on her for having a great deal of ambition in pursuing her career as a writer rather than finding a husband. Her quest to become a writer was not an easy one; she experienced a variety of struggles. Not only did her mother not support her, but most places were not hiring women. Stockett writes, “My eyes drift down to HELP WANTED: MALE. There are at least four columns filled with
Suddath, Claire. "Kathryn Stockett, Author of." Time. Time Inc., 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 29 May 2014
Aunt Alexandra’s scathing presence is further revealed in the novel where her aversion to black people is evident. She dislikes Calpurnia and bosses her around, and thinks that Atticus defending Tom Robinson is shameful to the fa...
Relationships are often difficult and messy, especially in the world Tayari Jones presents in her 2011 novel Silver Sparrow, chronicling the lives of the two daughters of bigamist father James Witherspoon. Jones depicts the complicated the world of Dana Yarboro the secret daughter, her father’s attempts to hide her from the prying view of the world and her refusal to stay hidden. While Chaurisse Witherspoon the public daughter James proudly presents to the world for all to see, enjoys the luxury of suburban life. Throughout the novel Jones’ character, Dana tries to reconcile how she can be part of her father’s family, but not truly a part of his life. While Chaurisse moves through the world with blissful ignorance of the secret life that lay
bad, and that white lady listen to her. Willie Mae say she been there thirty-seven years and it’s the first time they ever sat at the same table together” (Stockett, 504).
In the introduction to The Help, author Kathryn Stockett says, “I started writing it the day after September 11... I was really homesick – I couldn 't even call my family and tell them I was fine. So I started writing in the voice of Demetrie, the maid I had growing up.” Demetrie was a strong source of stability in Stockett’s life, just like the characters in her own novel. Everything Demetrie did for the Stockett family was well before she started thinking about Demetrie’s point of view on the situation. Stockett states, “I am ashamed to admit that it took me 20 years to realize the irony of that relationship. I 'm sure that 's why I wrote my novel, The Help – to find answers to my questions, to soothe my own mind about Demetrie.” (Stockett 528-529) Throughout the heartbreaking yet ironic novel, Stockett made sure to unveil how writing has enough power to develop positive changes on not only individuals, but communities that have a strong mindset of what they think is right and wrong.